Close on the heels of its corporate nemesis Apple, Samsung has also moved to secure a cobalt supply in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Samsung is in talks with Somika, a Congolese mining company to secure a supply of the metal used in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. The talks are still in process and it’s unclear how much cobalt Somika will mine from its site at the Kisanfu mine in Katanga, Bloomberg reported on Mar. 13.

Apple has already been reported to be planning to source cobalt directly from miners in the DRC. Like car manufacturers BMW and Volkswagen, the two tech giants are joining a global rush to buy cobalt as consumer demand for rechargeable batteries continues to rise.

The initiative aims to address concerns over the origins of cobalt, specifically in the DRC. Signatories are obligated to ensure that the miners they work with, whether artisanal or industrial, adhere to guidelines of responsible acquisition in conflict areas. The guidelines have seen efforts like the introduction of a blockchain pilot scheme to track the origins of cobalt.

Given the DRC’s tumultuous political environment, it is clear why manufacturers would want to ensure a consistent, ethical supply. In November last year, Amnesty International criticized major electronics companies and car manufacturers for not doing enough to ensure cobalt mining was not accompanied by human rights abuses like child miners and deadly working conditions.

Congolese lawmakers are not ignorant to the world’s clamor for cobalt. Earlier this year, the mining ministry moved to have cobalt identified as a “strategic metal,” which would see royalties increase for any miner. As the price of this once ignored metal rockets, it’s a lucrative market for anyone involved.

What is still unclear though, is whether the move to go straight to the supplier will guarantee ethical sourcing and bypass the corruption that has characterized the DRC’s mining sector.

Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition Presidential candidate Moise Katumbi talks to his supporters after leaving the prosecutor’s office in Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Kenny Katombe/File Photo

The announcement marks the start of what’s expected to be a series of declarations by candidates seeking to challenge President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled the central African nation for 17 years. Congo, Africa’s biggest copper producer and the world’s largest source of cobalt, has never had a peaceful transfer of power since independence almost six decades ago.

“You have chosen me to lead us to the coming elections,” Katumbi told a gathering of supporters in Johannesburg, South Africa. “I call for unity among the opposition because we have to work together, hand in hand, to go toward free and transparent elections.”

Congo was supposed to hold elections in 2016, at the end of Kabila’s second term. Opposition leaders have previously accused Kabila, in power since 2001, of intentionally delaying the vote in order to retain power and change the constitution to enable him to stand for a third term.

The new group that will back Katumbi will be known as Ensemble pour le Changement, opposition lawmaker Delly Sessanga said at the rally.

Katumbi, the 53-year-old Kabila ally and former governor of Congo’s copper- and cobalt-rich Katanga province, has previously announced plans to run for president. He’s lived in self-imposed exile since May 2016, when he traveled to South Africa for medical treatment. In June 2016, he was sentenced in absentia to three years in prison on what he says were politically motivated charges.

Among campaign pledges Katumbi offered to his supporters were plans to end armed conflict, particularly in the mineral-rich east of the country, attract greater private investment and build more infrastructure including hydropower dams and roads.